more

WINDSOR — Deputies in Bertie County have arrested a man in connection with the death of an 80-year-old woman whose body was found inside her home.

Sheriff John Holley said 33-year-old Aaron Riddick was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon. He's being held without bond in the Bertie County Jail. It's not known if he has an attorney.

The body of Bessie White was discovered last Tuesday evening in her home on N.C. Highway 45 between Colerain and Merry Hill after fire damaged her home. Holley said an autopsy showed White had been stabbed multiple times, and that money was a motive in the murder.

Holley said the fire started when a kerosene heater tipped over. He didn't say how the heater was tipped.